5 Questions to Ask Your Doctor When Being Assessed For or Diagnosed with Dementia
When you or a loved one is being assessed for dementia, it is likely that you both are beyond overwhelmed. There are so many questions you have and clarifications needed, but it seems like the appointment ends too abruptly.
You’d like to know: What does this mean for our future? What can we expect? How best can we begin planning for the years to come?
These 5 questions are a wonderful way to open up more conversations with your doctor and entire care team. The answers will help you all build a more clear plan of care and hopefully provide a touch of relief to you and your loved one as you continue on this journey together.
1. What type of dementia are we discussing?
There are many, many types of dementia. Knowing the type of dementia someone is being diagnosed with will improve clarity when developing the future plan of care.
2. What stage of dementia are we in?
The most commonly used scale to determine where someone is within the progression of dementia is the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS). As many types of dementia are progressive in nature, the GDS can provide helpful information so the care team can be prepared for their loved ones’ current needs as well as planning for the future.
3. If found in the early stages, are there any recommended treatments to slow the progression?
This is, of course, a personal choice for your loved one and yourself. But if you are interested in learning about the current treatments available for dementia, please ask your doctor as early as possible. While there are no cures for dementia, there are several treatments that have become available for those in the early stages of dementia.
4. Are there any negative interactions between medications that could be causing increased confusion?
Please take the entire medication list including prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, vitamins, and supplements to your doctor and/or your pharmacist. Have them identify any medications that can cause or exacerbate cognitive impairment. If there are medications that worsen confusion, you can always ask if that medication is still needed, if there are any alternatives to the medication that do not have the increased risk of cognitive impairment, or alternative approaches to help your loved one.
It is also great to take your loved one’s medication list to the pharmacist to ask if there are any negative interactions that can be causing worsening confusion.
5. Has there been a consideration of delirium or depression?
Dementia, delirium, and depression all have very similar symptoms and presentation. Dementia has a slower onset (meaning it shows up more slowly over a longer period of time) while depression and delirium can present symptoms more quickly.
Depression in the elderly can cause confusion and cognitive impairment that looks very similar to the symptoms of dementia when left untreated.
Delirium can look like disorientation, confusion, and behavior/personality changes similar to dementia. However, there is typically an acute cause of these changes. For example, a medication change within the past days or weeks is now having a bad reaction within the body. There is also the possibility of new illnesses (i.e., a urinary tract infection) that is causing the new confusion or decline seen by caregivers.
If your loved one is agreeable, ask your doctor to screen for depression and delirium. If cognitive impairments are being caused by one of these conditions, then the impairments have a possibility of resolving with treatment!